Katie Zacharia says she was 'perplexed' by Sean Hannity's 'hostile' grilling, as former press secretaries reach out after her White House exit

Katie Zacharia, 42, the former White House press secretary who was fired after just five days in October, says she was blindsided by Sean Hannity's sharp questioning on Fox News, having expected a friendly interview after he publicly defended her days earlier. Newsmax host Rob Finnerty suggested the White House may have quietly given Hannity the green light to go hard on her — a claim both Fox News and Hannity deny. Zacharia told Finnerty the experience left her 'perplexed'.

Hannity had called out Zacharia's mockers just two days before grilling her on the same bar exam claims on air.

Zacharia revealed Hannity's team had earlier offered her a job as a California correspondent, deepening the sense of betrayal.

Several former press secretaries have since reached out to Zacharia in solidarity, while she blamed the press corps for 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' in a New York Post op-ed and vowed her White House exit was only 'an interlude'.